A teenager had a VIP meeting with her heroine – after dislocating both knees trying to get an autograph!

Katherine Dodds stumbled outside the Noel Coward Theatre in London’s West End on Friday night as crowds flocked to see the stars of the show.

But it really was a case of no pain, no gain, as the following day, after attending hospital for her agonising injury, the 16-year-old from Riddlesden was treated to a backstage rendezvous with the target of her signature hunt – Dame Judi Dench.

And as the new urban slang phrase implies, the meeting was ‘well Dench’!

“She was really lovely,” said Katherine.

“She asked what had happened and said how sorry she was.

“We chatted for about five minutes. I told her I hoped to go to the same drama school she had attended, and she wished me the best of luck. And I got her autograph!”

Katherine had travelled to London with her mum Susan to see Dame Judi and co-star Ben Whishaw in Peter and Alice.

“We were waiting after the show to get an autograph,” she said. “I was at the stage door when someone said Dame Judi was coming out the front.

“While making my way round I fell and was in absolute agony.

“A lot of people came to my aid, including theatre staff, who were very kind and invited me to return to meet Dame Judi the next day.”

Katherine was taken to St Thomas’ Hospital, where her knees were put back into place and she was discharged on crutches in the early hours of Saturday.

Now back home, the Bingley Grammar School sixth-former said: “I’m still in quite a lot of pain and could be for another couple of weeks or so, but it was fantastic to meet Dame Judi.”

After completing her A-levels, Katherine hopes to study drama therapy at Her Majesty’s Central School of Speech & Drama in London.